Blue Cheese - Matchless In Look & Distinct In Feel

There have been innumerate accidental inventions such as the imagesetter or the screen platesetters, but the most famous invention was that of blue cheese. This is basically a kind of cheese that is distinctively identified by spots or threads of blue-green or grey-green mold. However, it's not just their look that makes them distinct, but they even carry a very distinct aroma. It won't be wrong to say that the cause for a huge demand for blue cheese is the smell and the sharp tangy or nutty taste.

You may be thinking, what is the reason for the unique look, flavor and smell of blue cheese. The only contrast between blue cheese and other cheese is that the it has been added with a mold culture named penicillium. The increase of mold supplies intriguing dark stripes, patches or veins present throughout the cheese.

The two most popular varieties of blue cheese are Roquefort and Gorgonzola. It's hard to spell but easy to love them. Their flavor is exceptional, and if you try them once you will definitely want them again. In case of the Roquefort cheese, the spores of the mold are added after the cheese cake is ready. The cheese cake with spores is given some parameters so it generates the stripes. In the gorgonzola type, the mold spores is mixed with the curd prior to the cheese is set. This is done to ensure a proper mixing and even distribution of mold. In different areas, blue cheese is still developed in caves where it was accidentally discovered for the first time. In earlier times the ripening of cheese was done by storing them in caves. It so occurred that in the procedure of ripening, the cheese cakes developed blue stripes. Incidentally, it was checked and the distinct flavor intrigued everyone.

Blue cheese is not the invention of today. Roquefort was found in 1070 AD., however gorgonzola is the oldest known cheese which is said to have been created around 879 AD. Depending on the demand of the consumers, the span of ripening of blue cheese is varied. The more a cheese is riped, the stronger a taste it tends to generate. Frequently, blue cheese is made by heating milk with an enzyme mixture known as rennet which generates the curdling of the milk and then pressed to pour off the whey. Mold spores are mostly inoculated at this step. The pressing and settling of cheese takes many days when the holes are finally done to aerate it. The ripening of the cheese is mostly conducted in cool caves and this is what takes much of the time. The aging procedure can remain for six months and in many cases to over a year.

In order to stop the blue cheese from getting putrid, it must be kept in a proper wrapping in somewhat cold temperature. Some individuals find the presence of mold unpleasant and they believe it to be something nasty. But technically speaking, almost every kind of cheese is made from molds and bacterium. Every consumer should be aware that there is nothing wrong with blue cheese unless you see any pink, brown, yellow or red spots then it certainly shows that the cheese has turned putrid.